Dying to be heard, dying to be hidden...
The paradox of writing is that the writer wants to be heard, while at the same time wants to be hidden. Why hidden? Well, let me put it this way.
The writer is traditionally a person who is unconventional and does not flow easily with the conventional status quotient. Therefore, they cannot necessarily come to an office or school in some routine fashion when they have a fantastic plot brewing in their heads: nothing is more important than getting down on paper the thoughts that are shooting unmercifully through their heads...so they have to remain hidden. Even though it can become a lonely hunt, the writer's "heart is a lonely hunter." This is where the dying comes in. Sometimes life is happening and the writer is writing, not participating, and that can be lonely indeed...a little bit of dying occurs. But the need to be heard is greater than the need to be expelled from the cave.
Somewhat quirky (I like to call it) many writers have the ability to see more than one side of things, they tend to SEEM to vacillate on matters, which makes them seem imperious to others' events or needs, so they'd rather not commit to anything. But really, they see all sides, which helps in characterization of their plots, or arguments on non-fictional essays, and that makes them hesitate to decide upon something that may be set in stone. Thus, writers prefer to remain, in others' minds, vague or ambiguous, so that they can move about easily, for their writing's sake. They have to be able to capture things, peoples' discussions, arguments, physical and abstract observations of people, places, etc., to be able to analyze them and decide upon using certain things or forgetting them, or archiving them for another day. They MUST be heard, but they must do it in a mental mode, thus they must be hidden. Writers are always THINKING. They may seem to many to be dopey or empty-headed, but they are quietly assessing even you!
Writers, traditionally do not like crowds (they have enough characters in their head), and they don't like to be pressed into a timeline with others (they have their own timeline in the deadline for publishing, or in their "dead-lines" for editing....like that pun?)
Writers are spontaneous to some degree. They "feel" their work at times, get into modes of gratitude, outlandishness, harrowing and daring circumstances, and sometimes, they just like to hang out in the library to get away from people that love them too much (like pets, spouses and children). Writers [traditionally] are acute and hypersensitive people, who feel so much they have to purge it upon paper, because they are also quite insightful, and never miss an opportunity to point something out.
Writers are not really "tortured," but sometimes they DO torture themselves (to see what it feels like for their story), and sometimes they try to read into things in different ways, depending upon the writer. For example, one writer might be very good at expounding on ideas, and taking them to the vast limit; another writer may be exceptional at reading body language; yet another writer may be very good at stick-to-it-ive-ness at the writing and editing in their cubbies, without flinching for lunch or dinner (those are the ones that become authors, and perhaps 'wealthy' authors).
Writers are unique people, not because they write but because they NEED to write to get their unique quirks purged, and then they can relax a bit, until the next wave of creativity hits, which is all but 15 minutes after purging, if that.
Writers feel a sense of duty to emit love through their writing--yes! LOVE is the object of their affection to their reader, which is why they MUST write. They were children of creativity, and authoritative and opinionated philosophers, and have only become more so as adults. Their vision is more than physical, and simultaneously they view varied patterns of thought. Writers are like stealth bombers: they sneak up on themselves as well as everyone else and scream their stories in writing, while being unseen.
The writer is traditionally a person who is unconventional and does not flow easily with the conventional status quotient. Therefore, they cannot necessarily come to an office or school in some routine fashion when they have a fantastic plot brewing in their heads: nothing is more important than getting down on paper the thoughts that are shooting unmercifully through their heads...so they have to remain hidden. Even though it can become a lonely hunt, the writer's "heart is a lonely hunter." This is where the dying comes in. Sometimes life is happening and the writer is writing, not participating, and that can be lonely indeed...a little bit of dying occurs. But the need to be heard is greater than the need to be expelled from the cave.
Somewhat quirky (I like to call it) many writers have the ability to see more than one side of things, they tend to SEEM to vacillate on matters, which makes them seem imperious to others' events or needs, so they'd rather not commit to anything. But really, they see all sides, which helps in characterization of their plots, or arguments on non-fictional essays, and that makes them hesitate to decide upon something that may be set in stone. Thus, writers prefer to remain, in others' minds, vague or ambiguous, so that they can move about easily, for their writing's sake. They have to be able to capture things, peoples' discussions, arguments, physical and abstract observations of people, places, etc., to be able to analyze them and decide upon using certain things or forgetting them, or archiving them for another day. They MUST be heard, but they must do it in a mental mode, thus they must be hidden. Writers are always THINKING. They may seem to many to be dopey or empty-headed, but they are quietly assessing even you!
Writers are spontaneous to some degree. They "feel" their work at times, get into modes of gratitude, outlandishness, harrowing and daring circumstances, and sometimes, they just like to hang out in the library to get away from people that love them too much (like pets, spouses and children). Writers [traditionally] are acute and hypersensitive people, who feel so much they have to purge it upon paper, because they are also quite insightful, and never miss an opportunity to point something out.
Writers are not really "tortured," but sometimes they DO torture themselves (to see what it feels like for their story), and sometimes they try to read into things in different ways, depending upon the writer. For example, one writer might be very good at expounding on ideas, and taking them to the vast limit; another writer may be exceptional at reading body language; yet another writer may be very good at stick-to-it-ive-ness at the writing and editing in their cubbies, without flinching for lunch or dinner (those are the ones that become authors, and perhaps 'wealthy' authors).
Writers feel a sense of duty to emit love through their writing--yes! LOVE is the object of their affection to their reader, which is why they MUST write. They were children of creativity, and authoritative and opinionated philosophers, and have only become more so as adults. Their vision is more than physical, and simultaneously they view varied patterns of thought. Writers are like stealth bombers: they sneak up on themselves as well as everyone else and scream their stories in writing, while being unseen.
I'm glad I'm a writer. I don't have to go anywhere to be everywhere, and I don't have to pretend in reality, because I'm pretending 24/7 on paper! I LOVE to write because I LOVE to see people enjoy reading what I wrote. I LOVE writing, and I hope some day to be discussing the pros and cons of writing to young writers everywhere, because that's what we do best: we tell AND show and CREATE.
Here is MY cubbie hole...and my dog...
Now, Go! I have to write now....
Comments
Post a Comment